22/01/2014 19:11
Dinamo KAZAN stuns Muscovite compatriots to play Volero in Playoffs 6
2014 CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League - Women
Kazan, Russia, January 22, 2014. On Wednesday night Dinamo KAZAN followed in the footsteps of Zenit – the other world class team from the capital city of Tatarstan – routing Dinamo MOSCOW in straight sets (25-15, 25-22, and 25-23) to make the Playoffs 6 of the 2014 CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League – Women and play there Switzerland’s Volero ZURICH. Dinamo and Volero will be crossing their ways once more after they were drawn in the same preliminary Pool but this time there will be much more at stake, i.e. a ticket to the Final Four tournament in Baku.
Dinamo KAZAN had already claimed the first round last week in Moscow (3:1) and needed to take another two sets from the return match to book their ticket to the Playoffs 6. Dinamo MOSCOW started out very bad making many errors in reception. Their best spikers Tatiana Kosheleva and Nataliya Obmochaeva were regularly stopped by the block of Dinamo KAZAN while Ekaterina Gamova and Antonella Del Core displayed an excellent performance for the home side. After leading the way 10:5 and 16:8, Dinamo KAZAN easily cashed the opening set 25-15.
In the second set Dinamo MOSCOW was able to keep the score tight chiefly via the attacks killed by Maryna Marchenko (18:18). However, a block by Jordan Larson-Burbach and an ace by the only 18-year old Anna Melnikova propelled a 20:18 lead for Dinamo KAZAN with Gamova taking her side by the hand on the way to the 25-22 that said the final word about the race for a spot in the Playoffs 6 after only two sets.
“Today we played our best match this season so far” commented Dinamo KAZAN mentor Rishat Gilyazutdinov. “My players showed a very good attitude, world-class Volleyball and played great in all fundamentals.”
“We are in a totally different state of mind than Dinamo KAZAN” said the interim head coach of Dinamo MOSCOW Leonid Zayko who just took over the helm of the team after Svetlana Ilic was fired a few days ago. “My primary goal is to help the players find back their commitment, inspiration and motivation which is something they are lacking after the series of defeats they have suffered lately.”
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